Kelly Jade Sotherton MBE (born 13 November 1976) is a British former heptathlete, long jumper and relay runner.

As the scale of her accomplishments at global level (5 global medals in four years) became clear in hindsight, Sotherton was increasingly recognised as fully part of a notable line of world class British pentathletes/heptathletes that included Olympic gold medalists Mary Rand, Mary Peters, Commonwealth Games champions Judy Simpson, and Louise Hazel and three modern champions across multiple events, Denise Lewis (Olympic, double-Commonwealth gold), Jessica Ennis-Hill (Olympic, European and triple-World gold) and Katarina Johnson-Thompson (double-World, double-Commonwealth gold), her multiple global medals and Commonwealth title between 2004 and 2008 bridging the gap between the Olympic triumphs of Lewis and Ennis-Hill.

She began her athletics career in the sports day at Caversham House Primary School in Ryde, Isle of Wight.

She was famously criticised for settling for the bronze medal instead of chasing the silver in the final event, the 800m, by her coach Charles van Commenee.

At the 2005 World Championships Sotherton had held a medal position going into the sixth event, despite some below average performances, but a disastrous javelin saw her drop out of contention.

In one of the best pentathlons of all time, many athletes set national records and Klüft and Sotherton rose to second and fourth on the all-time lists respectively.

However, Sotherton put in a strong performance in the 800 m, running 2:11.58 to just beat teammate Jessica Ennis to the bronze medal, with 6,510 points.

In February 2008, Sotherton competed in a three-event triathlon, at the Indoor Grand Prix, in Birmingham, against a field including Carolina Klüft.

[6] In December 2017 Tatyana Chernova was disqualified from 3rd place in the competition for doping, promoting Sotherton to the bronze medal.

[10] The following year, Sotherton struggled with injuries and although she was selected for the 2009 European Indoor Championships she had to withdraw due to heel problems.

[12] Sotherton completed "the first step of her reinvention as a 400m specialist", with a victory in the 400m final in 53.46 sec, at the English Institute of Sport - Sheffield indoor arena on 13 February 2011.

[13] On Sunday 27 May 2012, Sotherton announced her retirement from the sport after failing to recover from back surgery in time for the London 2012 games.

She appears in the media, commentating and guesting on various productions including those by Talksport and BBC Radio 5 Live, and undertakes public speaking engagements.

She coaches and mentors in Athletics, and is part of the Sports People's Think Tank alongside footballer Jason Roberts.

Sotherton was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to track and field athletics and the promotion of women's sport.